Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Growing Police State

The only defense ordinary citizens have against police misconduct is videotaping arrests. What kind of society have we become when this is allowed to happen?

The resisting-arrest conviction last week of Felicia Gibson has left a lot of people wondering. Can a person be charged with resisting arrest while observing a traffic stop from his or her own front porch?

Salisbury Police Officer Mark Hunter thought so, and last week District Court Judge Beth Dixon agreed. Because Gibson did not at first comply when the officer told her and others to go inside, the judge found Gibson guilty of resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer.

Gibson was not the only bystander watching the action on the street. She was the only one holding up a cell-phone video camera. But court testimony never indicated that Hunter told her to stop the camera; he just told her to go inside.

The cop never attempted to arrest her as far as I can see. She just didn't jump when he told her to leave her own porch on her own property. Maybe there's more to it than this sketchy account but I don't see any imminent danger to the public in this story either. Seems like the new police motto is bully and intimidate. Sure doesn't look like, protect and serve anymore.

2 Comments:

Anonymous said...

This particular officer Hunter is known in our town as a mean bully. He is aggressive and intimidating. There's a history of violence against good citizens. If the media looks deeper into arrest that he's made especially with women he is nothing more than an abuser. He assaulted and arrested a good friend in front of her 3 year old in 2009 and trumped up charges on her. Thankfully a prominent citizen witnessed the encounter and she was found to be innocent. Our tax dollars pay officers to protect and serve citizens. They don't pay them to brutalize and intimidate because a judge thinks its in his right. I can do what I please on my property as long as I'm not committing a crime or obstructing justice and the only person doing these things is Officer Hunter. Something must be done.